Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/2721 of 4 December 2023 amending Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses
Date: 2023-12-04
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, economic sanctions, human rights, international sanctions, legal person, natural person




L_202302721EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series L













2023/2721


5.12.2023







            COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2023/2721
of 4 December 2023
         
amending Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses


THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,


Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Whereas:







(1)


On 7 December 2020, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 (1).












(2)


On the basis of a review of Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999, the Council considers that its application should be extended until 8 December 2026. In addition, the Council considers it appropriate to introduce a review clause related to the existing derogation mechanism.












(3)


On the basis of a review of the Annex to Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999, the application of the measures set out in Articles 2 and 3 of that Decision as regards the natural and legal persons, entities, and bodies listed in that Annex should be extended until 8 December 2024. The entries concerning nine natural persons and three entities included in that Annex should be updated.












(4)


Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 should therefore be amended accordingly,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 is amended as follows:






(1)


Article 10, is replaced by the following:

‘Article 10

1.   This Decision shall apply until 8 December 2026 and shall be kept under constant review. The measures set out in Articles 2 and 3 shall apply as regards the natural and legal persons, entities, and bodies listed in the Annex until 8 December 2024.


2.   The derogation referred to in Article 4(1) shall be reviewed at regular intervals and at least every 12 months or at the urgent request of any Member State, the High Representative or the Commission following a fundamental change in circumstances.’

;









(2)


the Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.






Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




Done at Brussels, 4 December 2023.


For the Council


The President

O. PUENTE SANTIAGO
            





(1)  Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 of 7 December 2020 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses (OJ L 410I, 7.12.2020, p. 13).




ANNEX
The Annex to Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 is amended as follows:






(1)


in section A (‘Natural persons’), the entries for the following nine natural persons are replaced by the following:










 


Names (Transliteration into Latin script)


Names


Identifying information


Reasons for listing


Date of listing




‘2.


Alexander (Alexandr) Ivanovich BASTRYKIN


Алексaндр Ивaнович БАСТРЫКИН


Position(s): Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
DOB: 27.8.1953
POB: Pskov, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)
Nationality: Russian
Gender: male


Alexander Bastrykin has served as chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (the “Committee”) since January 2011 (and as acting chairman from October to December 2010). In that position, he oversees all activities of the Committee. Officially, the Committee is presided over by the Russian President. In Alexander Bastrykin’s capacity as chairman of the Committee, he is responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, including arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Alexander Bastrykin is responsible for the Committee’s widespread and systematic repressive campaigns against the Russian opposition, targeting and investigating its members. On 29 December 2020, the Committee launched an investigation into the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, charging him with large-scale fraud. Alexei Navalny and others published articles on Alexander Bastrykin’s ownership of Czech real estate firm LAW Bohemia in the 2000s.
In 2022, the Investigative Committee, which Alexander Bastrykin is still chairing, has charged 92 Ukrainian soldiers with crimes against humanity during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.


2.3.2021




6.


WANG Junzheng


王君正
(Chinese spelling)


Position(s): Member of the 20th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee (December 2022-December 2026); Deputy of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC, February 2023 – February 2027); Party Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR); former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; Political commissar of the XPCC and CEO of the China Xinjian Group
DOB: May 1963
POB: Linyi, Shandong (China)
Nationality: Chinese
Gender: male


Party Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) since October 2021. Member of the 20th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee (December 2022-December 2026). Deputy of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC, February 2023 – February 2027).
Former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) from April 2020 to October 2021, as well as Political commissar of the XPCC from May 2020 to October 2021. Former Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR, from February 2019 to September 2020. Wang Junzheng also held other senior posts in the XPCC.
The XPCC is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organisation in the XUAR, which exercises administrative authority and controls economic activities in Xinjiang.
As Party Secretary and Political commissar of the XPCC, Wang Junzheng was involved in overseeing all policies implemented by the XPCC. In that position, he was responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief, linked, inter alia, to the XPCC’s implementation of a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.
He was also responsible for the XPCC’s systematic use of Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities as a forced workforce, in particular in cotton fields.
As Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the XUAR, Wang Junzheng was involved in overseeing all the security policies implemented in Xinjiang, including the aforementioned programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. As Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR from February 2019 to September 2020, Wang Junzheng was responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he held a key political position in charge of overseeing and implementing the aforementioned programme.


22.3.2021




7.


WANG Mingshan


王明山 (Chinese spelling)


Position(s): Deputy of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC, February 2023 – February 2027); Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR); Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR
DOB: January 1964
POB: Wuwei, Gansu (China)
Nationality: Chinese
Gender: male


Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR since September 2020. Deputy of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC, February 2023 – February 2027).
Former Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) between 2017 and January 2021.
As Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR since September 2020, Wang Mingshan is responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he holds a key political position in charge of overseeing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.
As Former Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the XPSB (2017 to January 2021), he held a key position in Xinjiang’s security apparatus and was directly responsible for implementing the aforementioned programme. In particular, the XPSB has deployed the “Integrated Joint Operations Platform” (IJOP), a big data programme used to track millions of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region and flag those deemed “potentially threatening” to be sent to detention camps.
In his current position and due to his former functions, Wang Mingshan is responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief.


22.3.2021




10.


RI Yong Gil
a.k.a. RI Yong Gi, RI Yo’ng-kil, YI Yo’ng-kil


리영길
(Korean spelling)


Position(s): Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA)
Rank: Vice Marshal
DOB: 1955
Nationality: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
Gender: male


Ri Yong Gil is the Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA). He was Minister of National Defence of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from June or July 2021 until December 2022. He was Minister of Social Security from January 2021 until June or July 2021. He was also Chief of the General Staff of the KPA between 2018 and January 2021. He was promoted to Vice Marshal of the KPA on 14 April 2022.
As Chief of the General Staff of the KPA and as former Minister of National Defence, Ri Yong Gil is responsible for the widespread serious human rights violations committed by the KPA, including by members of the Military Security Command and other KPA units.
The Ministry of Social Security of the DPRK (formerly known as the Ministry of People’s Security or Ministry of Public Security) and the Military Security Command are leading institutions in charge of implementing the repressive security policies of the DPRK, including interrogation and punishment of people “illegally” fleeing the DPRK. In particular, the Ministry of Social Security is in charge of running prison camps and short-term labour detention centres through its Correctional Bureau in which prisoners/detainees are subject to deliberate starvation and other inhuman and degrading treatment.
As former Head of the Ministry of Social Security, Ri Yong Gil is responsible for serious human rights violations in the DPRK, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearance of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread forced labour and sexual violence against women.


22.3.2021




18.


Valery (Valeriy) Nikolaevich ZAKHAROV


Валерий Николаевич ЗАХАРОВ
(Russian spelling)


Position(s): Security counsellor to the President of the Central African Republic (CAR)
Wagner Group ID: M-5658
DOB: 12.1.1970
POB: Leningrad, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)
Nationality: Russian
Gender: male


Valery Zakharov, a former member of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), is the former security counsellor to the President of the Central African Republic (CAR). He is a key figure in the Wagner Group’s command structure and maintains close links with the Russian authorities.
Given his former influential position in CAR and his leading role in the Wagner Group, Valery Zakharov is responsible for serious human rights abuses committed by the Wagner Group in CAR, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings.
This includes the murder of three Russian journalists in 2018 whose security was the responsibility of Valery Zakharov.


13.12.2021




19.


Maxim SHUGALEY
a.k.a.
Maksim SHUGALEI


Максим ШУГАЛЕЙ (Russian spelling)


Position(s): President of the Foundation for the Defence of National Values (FDNV)
DOB: 24.2.1966
POB: Leningrad, former USSR (now St Petersburg, Russian Federation)
Nationality: Russian
Gender: male
Passport or ID number:
710508436 (Russian passport)


Maxim Shugaley is head of the Foundation for the Defence of National Values (FDNV), an entity associated with the Wagner Group. The FDNV operates as the public relations arm of the Wagner Group and Maxim Shugaley’s role in FDNV involves steering pro-Wagner Group propaganda and disinformation campaigns, including to enhance the reputation of the Wagner Group and support its deployment, as well as covertly interfering on behalf of the Wagner Group in the various countries that he is active in.
The Wagner Group is listed for serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, in several countries, including Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
Maxim Shugaley is associated with the Wagner Group and is responsible for supporting and encouraging the acts of the Wagner Group through pro-Wagner Group propaganda and disinformation.


25.2.2023




21.


Konstantin Alexandrovich PIKALOV


Константин Александрович ПИКАЛОВ
(Russian spelling)


Position(s): One of the PMC Wagner Group Commanders in Africa
DOB: 23.7.1968
Nationality: Russian
Gender: male


Konstantin Pikalov, code name “Mazaï” (Mazay), is one of the leaders of the Wagner Group and is responsible for the operational activities of the Wagner Group in Africa, notably in the Central African Republic (CAR). He is accused of being the instigator of the murder of three Russian journalists in July 2018. Since April 2023, he is also at the head of a new paramilitary group (Convoy) created in November 2022 to take action in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Wagner Group is listed for serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, in several countries, including CAR.
In his leadership position within the Wagner Group, Konstantin Pikalov is responsible for the serious human rights abuses committed by the Wagner Group in CAR.


25.2.2023




24.


Alexander Alexandrovich IVANOV
a.k.a. Aleksandr Alexandrovich IVANOV; Alexandre Alexandrovich IVANOV


Александр Александрович ИВАНОВ
(Russian spelling)


Position(s): Representative of Wagner Group instructors in the Central African Republic
DOB: 14.6.1960
Nationality: Russian
Gender: male
Address: Bangui, Central African Republic


Alexander Ivanov is the spokesperson for the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic (CAR). He is also the head of the Russian “Officers Union for International Security”, also called the Officers Community for International Security (COSI), a Wagner front company which sends Russian military instructors to CAR. Those instructors are Wagner Group mercenaries.
The Wagner Group is listed for serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, in several countries, including CAR.
In his position as official representative of Russian military instructors, Alexander Ivanov is involved in the serious human rights abuses committed by the Wagner Group in CAR.


25.2.2023




35.


Toe UI
a.k.a. Toe YI


 


Position(s): Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
Rank: Major-General
Nationality: Myanmar/Burma
Gender: male


Major-General Toe Ui was appointed Deputy Minister of Home Affairs on 3 February 2023. He is the former second in command of the Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs (OCMSA). The OCMSA is responsible for the management of detention and interrogation centres in Myanmar/Burma and is also tasked with intelligence gathering.
OCMSA staff under Ui’s authority use forced nudity, rape, electric shock, burning of genitalia and excessive violence during the arbitrary detention and interrogation of men, women and members of the LGBTIQ community.
In his capacity as second in command of the OCMSA, Major-General Toe Ui is responsible for serious human rights violations in Myanmar/Burma, including arbitrary detentions and torture, as well as for systematic and widespread sexual and gender-based violence.


7.3.2023’;














(2)


in section B (‘Legal persons, entities and bodies’), the entries for the following three entities are replaced by the following:










 


Name (Transliteration into Latin script)


Name


Identifying information


Reasons for listing


Date of listing




‘8.


Foundation for the Defence of National Values (FDNV)
Fund for the Defence of National Values (FDNV)
Foundation/organization for the Protection of National Values (FPNV)/(FZNC)
Foundation for National Values Protection


 


Place of registration: Moscow (64 Zemlyanoy Val str., building 2, office 201, Moscow, Russian Federation)
Website: https://en.fznc.ru/


The Foundation for the Defence of National Values (FDNV) is associated with the Wagner Group. The FDNV operates as the public relations arm of the Wagner Group. It steers pro-Wagner Group propaganda and disinformation campaigns, including to enhance the reputation of the Wagner Group and support its deployment, and engages in covert interference on behalf of the Wagner Group in the various countries that it is active in.
The Wagner Group is listed for serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, in several countries, including Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
FDNV is associated with the Wagner Group and is responsible for supporting and encouraging the acts of the Wagner Group through pro-Wagner Group propaganda, political interference and disinformation.


25.2.2023




10.


Meroe Gold Co. Ltd
a.k.a.: Meroe For Agricultural & Animal Production; Al-Solag; Al-Sarraj Mining Company Ltd; Al-Sawlaj Mining Company Ltd; Al-Solaj Mining Company)


 


Place of registration: Al-jref Gharb Plot 134 Blok 1h, Khartoum, Sudan
Other information: Mining of other non-ferrous metal ores
Associated with:
Al Sawlaj for Mining Ltd
الصولج
Aswar Multi Activities Co., Ltd


Meroe Gold is a cover entity for and closely linked to the Wagner Group’s operations in Sudan. By being affiliated with the Sudanese military, the Wagner Group secured the exploiting and exporting of Sudanese gold to Russia.
Meroe Gold is associated with the Wagner Group, listed for serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, in several countries, including Sudan. Through its activities, Meroe Gold also provides support for such abuses committed in Sudan.


25.2.2023




14.


Syrian Republican Guard


 


Place of registration: Syria
Associated individuals:
Brigadier General Mohamed Qasem (deputy commander),
General Malik Aliaa (supreme commander),
Mohammad Nayouf, Mohamed Kaddor (commanders),
President Bashar Al-Assad


The Syrian Republican Guard is an entity responsible for the security of officials and is part of the Syrian security forces.
In its ranks, sexual and gender-based violence against women is widespread, particularly during the ongoing Syrian conflict. Victims have reported violent rapes and torture after arbitrary arrests and during arbitrary detention.
The Syrian Republican Guard is part of a systematic approach by the Syrian regime to use sexual and gender-based violence to repress and intimidate the Syrian people, in particular women and girls.
The Syrian Republican Guard is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Syria, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread sexual and gender-based violence.


7.3.2023’.











ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/2721/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)